Karen Hartman is an American playwright and librettist. Her plays have been produced at 59e59, Primary Stages,

Yale Repertory Theatre Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of Yale School of Drama, in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented stud ...

Seattle Repertory Theatre Seattle Rep (Seattle Repertory Theatre) is a major regional theater located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Dámaso Rodríguez and Managing Director Jeffrey Herrmann.Directors Company
Denver Center Theatre,

Chicago Shakespeare Theatre Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is a non-profit, professional theater company located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. Its more than six hundred annual performances performed 48 weeks of the year include its critically acclaimed William Sha ...

, People's Light, Victory Gardens, Everyman Theatre, and numerous others. In 2022, the VOLT festival produced by off-Broadway theatre 59e59 simultaneously premiered three of Hartman's plays: ''New Golden Age'', ''The Lucky Star'', and ''Goldie, Max & Milk''. Hartman’s plays have been celebrated as passionate, relevant storytelling that “resonate in the current moment with overpowering force."

Biography

Hartman grew up in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. She completed her bachelor's degree in Literature at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and received Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting from

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

. After graduating from Yale, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She was Senior Artist-in-Residence at the University of Washington School of Drama in Seattle from 2014-2019, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with her family.

Career

Karen Hartman's plays have been produced all around the United States, including in New York at the

Women's Project WP Theater (formerly known as Women's Project Theater) is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater based in New York City. It is the nation's oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing and promoting the work of Women+ theat ...

, National Asian American Theatre Company,

P73 p73 is a protein related to the p53 tumor protein. Because of its structural resemblance to p53, it has also been considered a tumor suppressor. It is involved in cell cycle regulation, and induction of apoptosis. Like p53, p73 is characterized ...

, and

Summer Play Festival The Summer Play Festival (SPF) was a theatre festival held in New York, USA. Description The annual four-week Summer Play Festival took place during the summer months at the Public Theater in New York City. It was founded by Broadway producer Arie ...

, and regionally at Cincinnati Playhouse,

Dallas Theater Center The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas, United States. It produces classic, contemporary, and new plays and was the 2017 Tony Award recipient for Best Regional Theater. Dallas Theater Center produces its original ...

, the Magic,

Theater J Theater J is a professional theater company located in Washington, DC, founded to present works that "celebrate the distinctive urban voice and social vision that are part of the Jewish cultural legacy". Organization Hailed by ''The New York ...

, Horizon Theatre, Unicorn Theater, and elsewhere. Three of Hartman's works, ''Roz and Ray, The Lucky Star'' (as ''The Book of Joseph'')'','' and ''Project Dawn'' (NEA Art Works Grant, NNPN Rolling World Premiere) had ten productions across the U.S. in the 2016-18 seasons, premiering at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, People's Light, Seattle Rep, and Victory Gardens, and are published by Samuel French/Concord. ''The Lucky Star'' set records as the highest grossing play in the history of Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. Hartman is currently developing ''Project Dawn'' for Population Media Center as a television series, and another project for 20th Television. Hartman's essays and commentary have been published in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

the Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. She is the co-founder of national program #TogetherForAbortion, which brings people together for conversations about women's reproductive rights. Hartman’s work has been supported by the Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, the National Endowment for the Arts, Princeton’s Hodder Fellowship, the Helen Merrill Foundation, Space at Ryder Farm, Hedgebrook, MacDowell Colony, the O’Neill Playwrights Conference, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, a Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award, a Joseph A. Callaway Award from New Dramatists, a Jerome Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, and more. She has been a guest artist at the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain. Hartman held the Playwright Center's McKnight Residency and Commission for a nationally recognized playwright in 2014 and 2015. She held a 2019-2020

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

and is an alumnus of New Dramatists

Plays

* 2022. ''The Lucky Star.'' Commissioned by Chicago Shakespeare Theater (as ''The Book of Joseph)'' with world premiere, 2017. Off-Broadway premiere at Primary Stages (59e59 Theaters New York City). Published by Concord Theatricals * 2022. ''New Golden Age.'' Premiered at Primary Stages (59e59 Theaters New York City) Published by Concord Theatricals * 2022. ''Goldie, Max & Milk.'' Premiered at Florida Stage Company (West Palm Beach) 2010. Off-Broadway premiere, produced by MBL Productions at 59E59 Theaters, 2022. Published by Concord Theatricals * 2019. ''Good Faith: Four Chats about Race and the New Haven Fire Department.'' Premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre (New Haven). * 2018. SuperTrue. Premiered at Know Theatre (Cincinnati). * 2017. ''Project Dawn.'' National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. People's Light Theatre (Malvern, PA). Published by Concord Theatricals * 2016. ''Roz and Ray.'' Co-World Premiere, Victory Gardens (Chicago) and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Published by Concord Theatricals * ''Gum.'' Published by Dramatists Play Service * ''The Mother of Modern Censorship.'' Published by Dramatists Play Service * ''Troy Women.'' Published by Playscripts * ''Girl Under Grain.'' Published by NoPassportPress * ''Leah's Train.'' Published by Playscripts. * ''Alice: Tales of a Curious Girl'' (adapted from

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

). Published by Playscripts. * ''Wild Kate: A Tale of Revenge at Sea'' (adapted from ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

''). Published by Playscripts. * ''Antigone Project'' –co-author. Published by NoPassportPress. * ''New America: Contemporary Literature for a Changing Society'' –co-author. * ''Going Gone'' * ''No Second Troy'' * ''Reproducing Georgia''

Musical books

* 2022 ''Rattlesnake Kate.'' Music & lyrics by

Neyla Pekarek Neyla Pekarek (; born September 4, 1986) is an American cellist, vocalist, and pianist. She was a member of the folk rock band The Lumineers from 2010 to 2018. Early life Pekarek was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She grew up in a househo ...

* 2019 ''Alice Bliss''. Music by Jenny Giering, Lyrics by Adam Gwon, Based on the novel by Laura Harrington * ''The Magic Flute.'' Produced by Seattle Meany Theater * ''MotherBone.'' Produced by Salvage Vanguard Theater

Awards & Honors

* Susan Smith Blackburn Award (Finalist) for ''New Golden Age'', 2023 * Henry Award for Best New Work for ''Rattlesnake Kate'' (book by Karen Hartman, score by Neyla Pekarek), 2022 * John Simon Memorial Guggenheim Fellow, 2022 * Weston-Ghostlight New Musical Award for ''Alice Bliss'', 2019 * Edgerton New Play Prize for ''Roz and Ray'', 2016 * Deborah Salzer Award for Excellence in Arts Education, 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartman, Karen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni 21st-century American women writers